Whats wrong??

[microman2k]

ok...........well i have a 55 gallon tank with a growing algea problem
here is what all i have in there:
60lbs fiji live rock
30lbs crushed aragonite
1 yellow tang
1 tomato clown
2 blue damsels
1 zebra hermit
i went to the LFS and bought 25 turbo/astrea snails and when i put them in my tank.......they all died

and with my growing algae problem...i am wondering about my water quality...am i feeding too much?? this is my daily food schedule (as suggested by my LFS)
i feed flake and sea veggies in the morning.....and then in the evevning 1/2 a cube of formula 2....is that too much??
i know a clean up crew would help but i am afraid of wasting more money on one if its going to die....oh yea i also bought a cleaner shrimp and it died also
i also have a 29 gallon reef tank that is thriving...i have a pair of black and white percs and even an anemone.....and some coral and NO algae....i just dont know what to do....what can i do? whats wrong??:nervous:

 

[stang66200]

Sorry for all the deaths.
You might want to post the levels for your water quality tests. This will help people answer your question. Also, do you use tap water to fill up your tank?

 

[ctgretzky9]

what are your tests like? amm, trites,trates? Salinity?
the feeding doesnt seem like a real lot, but you could cut back a little. Once a day is all you really need, and some everyother day is what they do. I am a bit of an overfeeder myself, but am anal about water changes and vacuuming etc..
Did you acclimate the snails? SOunds dumb, but i have heard of people just throwing them in!
The algae is usually caused by: too much light/light cycle, overfeeding, using tap water, poor circulation/filtration.
There are other causes i believe, but these i have read are the biggest contributors

 

[microman2k]

well my ammonia and nitrites and stuff checks out...buy i dont know if i like my kits.......they are hard to read.......and never once when i have checked have they been high....so i am beginning to question them:thinking: my salinity is...1.023
i thought i might be overfeeding but i was afraid of starving my yellow tang since they eat so much...i know that is probably stupid but i dont wanna loose it...how would i feed that tank once a day with...sea veggies, flake, and formula 2??
i did acclimate the snails...i admit not as well as i normally but i did aclimate them...i acclimated them for like 30-45 min...(i let the bag set for 15 min to temperature acllimate....then added some water..let it set for 15 min.....then added some more tank water and let it set and then dumped them in)
my lights are on a bit too much i suppose but i dont have a timer for this tank....so i turn them on when i get up (around 7:30) and turn them off between 9-10...and they are just the stanard lights that came with the tank.
i do admit to this one thing tho........i do use tap water.....but i use this water conditioner for saltwater tanks.....and i have been using it for a month or two now in my reef tank and its doing great.....the anemone is great....corals are great....NO algae what so ever.......besides coraline so i really didnt think that the tap water was the problem...:nervous:
i forgot to mention what kind of algae it was...its diatoms and some light red, slime algae on the sand...
my filtering should be pretty good.....i have two filters in there...one with a mini skimmer sponge thing in it....my water is crystal clear....i even have a heater in it to help keep the temperature up...not that will matter in this case.
i hope that answers everything:joy:

 

[dburr]

I acclimate snails for at least an hour.
The new way I heard in to put them just above the water line and let them crawl in themselves.:thinking:
Bump your SG to 1.025, IMO.
You are over feeding. Now you have algae and your YT can graze all day long. I feed 1 times every 2 days. Sometimes every day. I would keep a algae sheet every day and rotate the other food.
Timers are great foor lights. The fish and coral get used to it and will fare better with them. I use a timer for lights. Nothing special, I paid $5 at wal-mart.
Get better quality water. The slim could be from your tap.
HTH

 

[microman2k]

ok.......so how does this sound for a feeding schedule.......flake in the morning.....sea veggies in the evening.....and how would i rotate my formula too.......
ur right about there is enough algae for him to be eatin in the tank now.....today is the first day ever ihave seen him pick at the rocks and sand

 

[dburr]

One day flake, one day formula 2. Everyday a sheet.

 

[clarkiiboi]

IMO it sounds like an acclimation problem. Adding water only 2 times is a bit rushed. I usually add a little at a time, every 5-10 minutes and then dump the water in the bag and go again. With your feeding, don't forget about meaty foods for your clowns and damsels. My tang even ate meaty food after I got it eating. Just mix it all together and feed once a day or so. Not alot, just enough to not have too much fall and not get eaten. That said, I feed a small amount a few times in that one feeding. HTH

 

[ctgretzky9]

What kind of lights that came with it? Even low wattage lights left on for a long duration can cause blooms. THis plus tap water and overfeeding I think is the cause.

 

[shoreliner11]

I'd maybe look at running carbon to help clear out any unknown chemicals that are in the tank. IMO snails are one of the hardiest things you can put into your tank. I usually do not acclimate mine at all but my salinity is around 1.025 which is what the lfs water is so it probably isn't that stressful. With that said if all 25 snails died, you might have some copper in the tank from the tap water. Also, whens the last time you did a water change? I would do at least a 20% water change a week for a couple weeks and run some carbon and see if that helps things. Good Luck
Aaron

 

[gfk]

ive acclimated the way im supposed to and also a bit rushed, and ive never had anything die, and ive added a lot of snails and crabs in the last month....
id say get a timer for your lights and feed less, that sounds to me like its the problem. as far as those guys dying, i guess it coulda been the acclimation? i dunno you sound like you do it the way i do and ive been fine

 

[microman2k]

ok.....well i dont really think its copper in the tank b/c my other fish are doing well and so is my zebra hermit....i dunno..it must have been the acclimation.....
i do run carbon however.....well i think.......the little filter pads have carbon in them that the water runs through.....is that the same thing?
i did a water change a day or two after i got the snails.......my tank looks pretty good right now....no brown algae but there is still a little slime...
my salinity was 1.025 or 1.026 when i did the water change.....i thought maybe it was too high for the inverts so i lowered to what it is now...so when the snails went it...the salinity was up around 1.025...
i am not sure what kind of lights are on the tank.......just the standard ones from walmart.....like 30 watts of fluroscent i think? i am goiong to run out and get a timer tho.......i have on on my 29 reef and it works great....
thanks for all the help!:yes: :joy:

:cheer: :happy: